Trump Floated Kicking Press Out of WH and Replacing Briefing Room With a Swimming Pool — NYT’s Maggie Haberman Reports

President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of booting reporters from the White House and turning the press briefing room into an indoor swimming pool, according to a Tuesday report from The New York Times.

The paper’s Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reported that Trump personally pitched removing the media from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room to then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during an Oval Office meeting in August, telling her the move could be her “last legacy,” though it never happened.

Three sources familiar with the discussions also told the Times that Trump raised the proposal with Leavitt on multiple other occasions before she left the administration on Aug. 27.

The president reportedly wants to restore the indoor pool installed for former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Former President Richard Nixon’s administration eventually covered it to make room for the press.

Trump even posted images on Truth Social in September comparing the current briefing room, labeled “Fake News,” with a gold-adorned swimming pool labeled “FDR Pool.”

According to Haberman and Swan, Trump’s advisers have historically resisted removing journalists from the White House, fearing both logistical headaches and potential political fallout. But the president now has more allies encouraging the move.

Among them is Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who reportedly prepared a visual mock-up of the proposed pool despite having no official responsibility for White House facilities.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung did little to rule out the possibility, telling the Times, “All options remain on the table, and we will make an announcement when appropriate.”

The revelation comes amid an escalating confrontation between the Trump administration and the press.

In September, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. A federal judge subsequently ordered their access restored, finding that the administration had violated their First Amendment rights.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department launched an antitrust investigation into the five major television networks after they temporarily suspended White House pool coverage in protest of the restrictions.

Not to mention, today in the Oval Office, the president told The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg, “I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” wondering whether he is a “sick person.”

And Trump has notably targeted Haberman herself on multiple occasions after she published reporting that he deemed unfavorable, dubbing her “Maggot,” a “SCAMMER,” and an “unattractive person both inside and out.”

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